Versatility is key

Stunt groups usually stick together.
They’re formed at the beginning of the summer — a top, two bases and a back — and that’s how they stay. They work together for every stunt in a routine throughout the year.
That’s not how the Patriots are operating this summer.
Jay County High School’s cheerleaders, who will compete Saturday at the Indiana State Fair, are using all sorts of different combinations in order to take advantage of specific skills and create different looks.
Six different girls will be in the air, with four of them going up once each in various combinations with sophomore regulars Breea Liette and McKenna Daniels.
“It’s very different,” said junior Samantha Link, who serves as a base for each of the Patriots’ three stunts but does so with a different base, top and back each time. “Usually you get four at the very beginning of the season and that’s who you stick with. … It’s much more challenging. It’s a big change … It’s just a lot to adjust to.”
The key to making those adjustments is technique, a word that came up over and over again at practice from both cheerleaders and coaches. Everything has to be done correctly, and at the right time, it order for a stunt to look good to the crown and, most importantly, the judges.
For the tops that means standing up straight and keeping their bodies tight. The less movement they have once they’re in the air, the better.
Bases need to make sure they have their arms locked at all times in order to be able to support the girls who are in the air. And they have to to adjust themselves to order to make sure the stunts stay up.
The backs help launch the stunts into the air, brace ankles with their hands for stability and lift up in order to help the bases support the weight. And if a top falls, it’s the backs’ job to keep them safe.
“Really what it comes down to is everybody has to do their own part,” said Jay County coach Abby Champ. “It’s a lot of everybody doing exactly what you have to do at exactly the right time because if people are off, there is not a lot of room when you’re standing on one foot, three palms, there’s not a lot of room for error.”
“Everybody’s as vital as everybody else in a stunt group,” added Link. “The bases and the back carry all the weight. The top girl has to pull up and stay tight … The bases have to change for her.”
The Patriots’ opening stunt sends four girls into the air, with Giannina Perod, Dara Grove, Liette and Daniels each performing a liberty, torch and arabesque before dismounting with a full twist. The second sends Liette and Daniels in the air again, this time with Courtney Miles, for an extension and full down in a single motion.
Jay County’s third and final stunt sends Daniels up in the middle between Breea Liette and her junior sister Alexus. Daniels hits an extension and then with the Liettes holding her arms as she performs a front flip down followed with a back pike up into her original position. The Liettes bump down in unison, brace back up, perform a giddy-up and then hit an outside strong while connected with Perod and Grove, sitting on the shoulders of Shelby Clark and Julia McClung, on the sides and Daniels in the middle.
Throughout the routine, the only bases who work together on multiple stunts are senior Sierra Trobridge and freshman Randi Ferguson (the first and third). Miles serves in each of the roles — a back for the first, top for the second and base for the third — and Alexus Liette is a base for each of the first two before becoming a top for the last.
“It’s more fun,” said Alexus Liette of the variety. “It’s fun being in the air, but doing it the whole routine is kind of scary.”
The different groups weren’t planned at the beginning of the season, but the Patriots’ versatility has helped them adjust when needed.
The middle stunt originally didn’t involve Miles being in the air. But her gymnastics background made her a natural for executing the full down.
Junior Leearah Eldridge started as a base because the squad wasn’t sure if McClung would be back from a trip to Germany in time to be a part of the state fair routine. When McClung returned in July, she became a base and Eldridge shifted to a back.
And Grove was originally slated to be in the air on the final stunt. When she was on vacation, Alexus Liette stepped in to allow Daniels to work on her skills. When the whole squad got back together again, that final stunt just hit better with a Liette sister on each side of Daniels.
“And it doesn’t hurt any that that final picture has that look,” said Champ. “They’re the same height. They’re the same size. They obviously look alike.”
It’s a lot to adjust to.
Everyone has to be able to work with everyone else in different roles. That’s especially as the Patriots try to earn a top-three finish at the state fair for the eighth straight year.
In the end though, it comes down to every girl doing her job, regardless of what that job is.
“You just try to give as much effort as everyone else and as much as you should,” said Breea Liette, “because we’re all here for one purpose and that’s to do really well at state fair and have fun.”